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Authorities swim against tide to rein in Kerala Cannabis smuggling racket
Naval operations, especially off the northern seas, have resulted in several large detections of Kerala Cannabis over the past few weeks, again laying bare the sheer scale of the drug smuggling operations and difficulties in dismantling them.
During the first two weeks of July alone, the navy detected nearly 550kg of Kerala Cannabis off the northern seas which it estimates to have a combined street value of Rs 163 million . On Thursday (16), in an operation off Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, the navy spotted several packages being thrown overboard from a dinghy heading landward, as it was about to be searched. A naval craft had intercepted the suspicious dinghy and detained three suspects on board. A search of the sea area had resulted in the recovery of three packages containing about 103.75kg of Kerala Cannabis cast away by the smugglers.
In the early hours of Monday (12), a special operation carried out by the navy off Analathivu Island, Jaffna, resulted in the seizure of 344.55kg of the drug and the arrest of three suspects and a dinghy used by them.
On July 6, an operation in the seas north of Kovilam, Jaffna, naval craft had intercepted a suspicious dinghy while it was heading ashore. The dinghy had been loaded with four sacks of Kerala Cannabis weighing about 98.5kg. Three suspects and their dinghy were taken into custody.
All suspects taken into custody in these incidents are local residents from areas such as Point Pedro, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Jaffna, Pesalai and Pooneryn. The navy believes the stock of drugs are transferred to the dinghies from larger boats at the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and then brought ashore.
Naval patrols have been stepped up along the northern seas for the past six months to thwart drug smuggling and other illegal activities, Navy Spokesman Captain Indika De Silva said.
Manar fisherman Justin Zoysa however, noted it was a challenge for authorities to cripple the Kerala Cannabis smuggling racket due to a variety of factors. “The short distance between Mannar and the Indian coast means that many boats from India come into our waters to fish. By our estimates, some 2000 Indian fishing boats come every day. The smugglers come disguised as fishermen and transfer the drugs from their boats to local dinghies. Unlike larger boats, dinghies can beach at almost any location, which makes them hard to detect.”
Those involved in smuggling the drugs have GPS equipment, which makes it easy for them to hide the drugs at a designated place and send the GPS coordinates to associates who then come and pick them up and transport them inland to be distributed. Most of the drugs that come ashore are transported south.
Mr Zoysa said many local fishermen are enticed to work for the smugglers due to the large amount of money that is to be had in the illegal racket. “I was born and raised in Mannar. I’m 55 now, so I have seen a lot of what’s happened here. There are people here who have built large multi-storey houses and purchased luxury vehicles. All this is from money smuggling Kerala Cannabis. It’s not hard to see why people are attracted to it.”
He opined that many of those involved did not fear much about the consequences since the punishments for cannabis possession and smuggling are lighter compared to hard drugs. “There has to be stiffer penalties such as fines and prison sentences. Otherwise, I doubt this can be stopped even if you put a quarter of the army here.”
Another source meanwhile, said there is also now a racket in the north where Indian smugglers are paid with gold biscuits made from melted down gold jewellery for their Cannabis. Aside from Kerala Cannabis, smugglers are bringing in large quantities of turmeric and even electrical goods.
Justice Ministry’s chief legal advisor U.R. De Silva, PC, however, said he disagrees with the view that stiffer fines and prison sentences was the best way to curb cannabis smuggling. He noted that cannabis was already being used in limited quantities by Ayurvedic physicians. The drug is legally given to them through the Department of Ayurveda to make ayurvedic medicines.
“There is a proposal for the government to take over illegal cannabis cultivations once authorities detect them and rather than them being burned, for the cultivations to be managed in a way that enables the cannabis to be grown locally for ayurvedic purposes under strict controls. Any excess amount can be exported to countries where cannabis is legal,” he explained.
Stepped up operations to stop the smuggling of Kerala Cannabis, together with efforts to bring local cannabis cultivation under government authority for ayurvedic purposes, was the best way forward as far as he was concerned, Mr De Silva stressed. 
The government however, was looking to further increase efforts to crack down on hard drugs such as heroin. As part of these steps, a committee has proposed legal amendments which would enable the destruction of seized stocks of heroin and other hard drugs with the permission of a magistrate once the Government Analyst’s report is submitted identifying the drugs. As such, the drugs will no longer have to be kept in storage until the cases are concluded in the magistrate’s courts and high courts.
“The public always wonders what happens to these drugs. This amendment would allow for the destruction of these stocks without them having to be kept in storage for many years,” Mr De Silva stressed.
The government is also intending to change the law to give stiffer penalties for the smuggling and possession of ‘Ice’ drugs (Methamphetamines), he further said. These amendments will be presented to Cabinet and once approved, the legislation will be presented to Parliament.